


Compliance

by respoftw



Series: Tumblr Prompts - Hawksilver edition [29]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Brainwashing, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-03
Updated: 2015-06-03
Packaged: 2018-04-02 17:17:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4068124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/respoftw/pseuds/respoftw
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When he finally arrives, the first thing he notices is the lack of blood on the ground.  Even better, the kid is conscious.  Clint almost drops to his knees in relief.  He's OK. Thank God. </p>
<p>The problem is, Pietro's not moving.  His usually animated face is slack and unresponsive, only his terror filled eyes conveying any hint that Pietro is awake.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Compliance

**Author's Note:**

> From the following prompt:
> 
> incendiarywitch submitted:  
> Possible Prompt?  
> First and foremost I love your work~! I look forward to each fic everyday. ^_^
> 
> Okay, this one might be silly and I’ve never submitted a prompt before…but there was a little brain child in my head. So it’s something to do with Pietro having a keyword that keeps him in check from the HYDRA experiments? After the enhancement Pietro becomes a little harder to control so they needed to make a failsafe to keep him obedient…Maybe something in Sokovian, but it’s a simple word that shuts him down temporarily when he gets too fast (keeps him in check) and POST AoU he forgets about it until a random mission where someone (like a former HYDRA scientist maybe?) says it and Clint has to get him out of there…And then later having either Angsty!Comforting or fun little Avengers teasing Pietro about?
> 
> (( XP Sorry..that might have been too long. Did any of what I said make sense? ))

_Not again._

 

Clint sees Pietro fall in the middle of the battle, dropping like someone had cut his strings, and all he can think is, not again. He can't handle the damn kid dying on him again. With a quick signal to Cap, he moves from position and starts to make his way over to where the kid is lying, unmoving in the middle of the road. It's only the lack of grief and rage flowing from Wanda that is keeping him from panicking. He remembers Sokovia. He remembers the way her powers had flared as the emotions poured out of her. That hasn't happened this time so Pietro can't be badly hurt, right? That's the thought that Clint clings to as he slowly makes his way through the battle, stopping every now and then to shoot down some bad guys.

 

When he finally arrives, the first thing he notices is the lack of blood on the ground. Even better, the kid is conscious. Clint almost drops to his knees in relief. _He's OK. Thank God._

 

The problem is, Pietro's not moving. His usually animated face is slack and unresponsive, only his terror filled eyes conveying any hint that Pietro is awake.

 

“Jesus, kid. What the hell happened? Can you move? Can you stand? Pietro! Say something, for chrissake.”

 

“Something.” Pietro's voice is wooden and devoid of the usual fond teasing tone that Clint is used to. Clint's belly drops. Something is very wrong with this picture and he has the sinking suspicion that he knows at least part of what's going on.

 

A lot of people forget that Clint had been a SHIELD agent long before he became an Avenger. He's worked a lot of missions, HYDRA has been his enemy for a long time. And this? This stinks of HYDRA. Specifically, HYDRA programming.

 

Clint wants to be wrong. He can't bear the thought that the kid had been forced to go through this and if he's right, the last thing he wants to do is take advantage but right now, with doom bots closing in, he needs to get them to safety as soon as possible. And if he _is_ right? Well, it'll go a hell of a lot quicker than Clint struggling to carry the muscle-heavy body lying prone before him.

 

Hating himself, Clint grits out the words. “Pietro, get up.” Pietro's eyes flash with betrayal as his body moves to obey Clint's words. “Run us to the Quinjet.”

 

Pietro picks him up and suddenly the world is rushing past them, knocking the breath out of Clint's lungs as they speed towards safety.

 

The world pulls back into focus as they reach the jet. Clint clears his throat and instructs Pietro to let him down, which Pietro does by dropping him to the ground like a sack of potatoes. He probably should have specified to let him down gently, but honestly, he kind of deserves it for commanding Pietro's body.

 

Clint knows a little something about losing your autonomy and he wouldn't wish this on anybody. Least of all, this stupidly brave and independent kid. He tries not to remember what he's read about HYDRA's programming techniques but every word is imprinted on his brain. He'd known their methods were bad but somehow, imagining Pietro go through the process, they now seem a thousand times worse.

 

He can't bring himself to look into Pietro's eyes. He fears what he'll see. Hatred and disgust at the callous way he had taken control of him, probably. He wouldn't blame Pietro for it, he's pretty disgusted with himself right now.

 

There must have been a trigger, Clint thinks. Pietro has been with them for months and never had an episode like this. Someone from Strucker's HYDRA team must be working with Dr Doom. If Clint ever meets the man who played a part in this barbarism, he'll personally shoot him with just enough arrows to incapacitate him before setting Natasha loose on him. Natasha also understands the particular brand of terror that comes with losing your ability to act for yourself.

 

It seems like hours pass, the steady slow sound of Pietro's breathing echoing in Clint's ears, but eventually he sees Tony and Rhodey flying towards them. The rest of the team won't be far behind.

 

“What's with Speedy?” Tony asks, as he takes off his helmet. “Cap said he got injured but he looks as good as usual to me. Hey! Petey! Cat got your tongue?”

 

Clint grits his teeth in annoyance. Why does everything have to be a joke to Tony? It should be obvious that something isn't right. Pietro is _never_ this still.

 

Rhodey, at least, seems to have noticed. His voice is wary as he holds an arm in front of Tony, blocking the billionaire from going over to wave his hands in front of Pietro's face. “Clint, want to tell us what the hell is going on?”

 

“I think it's HYDRA brainwashing. I'm guessing there was a trigger and someone in the fight knew it. Whatever it was, it stopped him cold and he's completely compliant to commands.” Clint can see from Rhodey's eyes that he understands the seriousness of the situation. If they can't figure out how to untrigger Pietro then they're all screwed.

 

Tony scoffs in disbelief. “Seriously, Barton? You expect us to believe this shit? Hey, Pietro? Break the pinky finger on your left hand.”

 

Clint has barely started to scream a counter command when he hears the sickening crunch of bone.

 

The rest of the team make it back just in time to see Clint punch Tony square in the jaw, knocking him to the ground where he lies dazed, face pale with shock and guilt.

 

“You care to explain what the hell's going on?” Steve asks, voice serious as he takes in a trembling with rage Clint being held back by a shaken looking Rhodey.

 

He doesn't notice Pietro standing calmly behind the three men, finger bent at a horrifying angle, until Wanda cries out.

 

Wanda is sobbing as she throws herself into her brother's unresponsive arms. The team watch in confusion as she cradles his passive face in her hands and whispers words in Sokovian. Clint's knees _do_ buckle in relief this time as Pietro shudders violently before collapsing to the ground, breath hitching as he babbles in his native language, Wanda kneeling beside him and offering him words and touches of comfort.

 

_She knew the trigger release. He's going to be fine. He's OK._

 

*

 

The story comes out on the flight back to Avengers HQ, Wanda explaining the basics as Pietro sleeps curled up next to her, his body and mind escaping into oblivious rest.

 

Strucker and List had bitten off more than they could chew when they recruited the Maximoff twins. When the twins had figured out that they had volunteered for HYDRA, not SHIELD, they had fought back. It had taken forty men to take down an enraged Pietro, an impressive feat that they could not allow to happen again. 

 

“Once they had us captive again, they ensured that we would comply with their wishes from now on. They built a fail-safe. One word and Pietro was theirs to command, to control.”

 

Natasha's face is stormy as she swears in Russian, kicking off her chair and walking away to calm down.

 

“This fail-safe?” Steve asks carefully. “Do you have one too?”

 

Wanda shakes her head sadly. “Why would they need to bother when they could control Pietro? They knew I would stay with him.”

 

Clint can't bare to think of the horrors they had forced Pietro's body through in order to ensure that Wanda was aware  _just_ how compliant her brother had become. From the haunted look in her eyes, he's pretty sure he never wants to know.

 

Steve's eyes darken at Wanda's words, his face hardening as he no doubt remembers what happened to Bucky.

 

“Why didn't you tell us?”

 

Six pairs of eyes turn to glare at Tony for asking the question.

 

“Look, I'm sorry. I was an ass and I didn't mean to get the kid hurt. As soon as we get back to the lab I'm going to do everything in my power to figure out a way to reverse this. But it's a valid question. We've been working with an exploitable weakness. You should have told us.”

 

“They were all supposed to be dead.” Wanda sighs. “The people from Sokovia. We didn't know anyone was still alive to know the trigger. And he was scared that you would not let him be an Avenger IF you knew. _We_ were scared.”

 

The rest of the flight passes in silence, each member of the team lost in their own thoughts.

 

*

 

Tony can't fix it. He's tried, God knows he's tried, but nothing he can come up with can block the fail-safe. 

 

Pietro had grudgingly let them know the trigger word so they could test it and Clint can't handle seeing the panicked flare in Pietro's eyes as his control is ripped from him again and again. All in the name of a cure. 

 

The kid is being so damn brave. He's handling it much better than Clint would and had even gone out of his way to track Clint down, telling him off for avoiding him since the mission and thanking him for saving his life. 

 

Clint really doesn't deserve the kid's forgiveness but when he says that Pietro just slaps him on the head before kissing him sweetly on the mouth. “ _I_ choose who I forgive.” 

 

Well, when he puts it like that, Clint has no choice but to take back his place in Pietro's life.

 

He's not supposed to know that Coulson is alive. He doesn't even know if Natasha is privy to that information and honestly, it was dumb luck that he found out at all.

 

Phil owes him. For letting him think he was dead, for not saying goodbye, for breaking up with him by text to see some orchestra chick. Whatever the reason, he's due a favour.

 

The key to unlocking the failsafe comes with a note. Written in Phil's neat script it says:

 

I hope he makes you happy.

 

As Clint watches Pietro whoop in joy as the trigger phrase finally releases it's hold, pulling a surprised Tony in for a bone crushing hug he smiles to himself. 

 

Yeah. He's happy.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Come say hi on [Tumblr](http://pietrolovesclint.tumblr.com/)


End file.
